For Her Who is More
by KuraiArcoiris
Summary: Sometimes, we only see one side of a person, but no one is so simple as to be seen fully from one side. To get a full view, we need to see them in different settings and situations. Of course, some people are more complex than others, and so we need to see more. With Candace, well...let's say we'll definitely need more.
1. First Kiss

01. First kiss

He stood fidgeting at the edge of her bed, and Candace frowned at him. She wanted him to leave. The boy and his daddy had come into the house and taken over. Because of his daddy, Candace couldn't go into her mommy's room anymore without permission, and she couldn't go to Phineas' because he'd be there too. And now he wouldn't leave her room either. Phineas had already left after giving her a goodnight hug and kiss, but he didn't follow Phineas like he always did.

There he stood beside her bed staring at her and gripping the edge of his pajama shirt. Candace stared back, because she wasn't going to lose here. Not in her room. Finally his eyes lowered and stared at her bed sheet instead, but he still didn't leave. Candace wanted to yell at him and push him out, but then her mommy would get mad and scold her. So Candace decided to take the boy's hand and take him to Phineas' room. But when she tried to pull him forward, he didn't budge. She let go of his hand and crossed hers. Her foot tapped, like that cartoon on television, and he slowly looked up at her. Then suddenly he leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her, and gave her quick kiss that missed her cheek and hit her chin. He then ran out of the room.

Candace stared at the door. Ferb was weird. That wasn't how one gave a goodnight hug and kiss. Both people had to do it, not just one. Didn't his daddy teach him that? She moved to the door determined to show Ferb how a goodnight hug and kiss was supposed to go.


	2. Final

02. Final

"Hey, you know you never talk about your dad," said Stacy.

"Sure I do. I mean, he's beyond geeky and embarrassing, but I do talk about him. Mostly to complain about how geeky and embarrassing he is," said Candace, looking up from her magazine and giving her best friend a one shoulder shrug. "But then he is my Dad. What else am I going to say?"

"No, I don't mean about your stepdad. I mean your real dad," said Stacy.

"My stepdad is my real Dad," said Candace returning to her magazine. "So what do you think about this blouse-skirt combo? I know it's not my usual red-white combo, but…"


	3. Numb

03. Numb

The whispers were buzzing in her ears again.

"Isn't that her?"

"Yeah. That's Phineas and Ferb's sister."

"The crazy, obsessed one?"

"That's the one. Can you believe she wants to bust her brothers?"

"I know. They make the most amazing things! Why would anyone want to stop them?"

"Isn't obvious? She's jealous and petty. I have no idea how her boyfriend puts up with her, let alone her brothers."

"Oh, and her poor best friend."

"I heard she bewitched Jeremy with her looks."

"Like those are so amazing."

"Serves her right, getting busted for that party."

"She should bug off and leave her brothers alone."

They were so loud, the whispers. As if they all really wanted her to hear them. But she ignored them. They didn't hurt. They didn't. Nope, not one bit.


	4. Broken Wings

04. Broken wings

When Phineas brought the thing in, Candace wanted nothing to do with it. Animals hated her, and she had no doubt that if she tried to touch the thing or pick it up, it would peck her fingers or bite a piece of her hand off. Phineas and Ferb made a small nest for it, complete with feeder, drink dispenser, bird bath with water slide, and home-grown worms (she really didn't want to know where they'd gotten those). But then Phineas tried to set the thing's wings, and it pecked Phineas' hands hard. Candace immediately pushed Phineas aside and had set the wings herself. Several pecks, scratches, and cuts later, the bird's wings were set nice and neatly with splints and well on their way to healing. Glancing at his sister's hands, Phineas remarked that perhaps they should use sedatives next time.


	5. Daybreak

05. Daybreak

Quietly, Ferb snuck into his sister's room. He poked her cheek, and she muttered and rolled onto her other side. He poked her shoulder, and grumbling, she lifted her head. He pointed to the window, and she grumbled again and got out of bed. He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward as she yawned and stumbled behind him.

Soon they were outside just as the sky became a muggish grey. They faced the horizon as the grey shifted and lightened to a soft yellow that sharpened and pushed the remainder of the sky into its daytime blue. The sharp yellow seemed to pull a bright yellow half circle out of the horizon, and it rose up until the color was too bright to look at anymore. A nudge to his shoulder broke Ferb from his thoughts, and an outstretched hand hovered next to him. He took the piece of paper out of his pocket and gave it to the hand along with a pencil. Yawning widely, Candace checked "watch sunrise together" off their list.


	6. Rules

06. Rules

"It's not fair!" cried Candace. Linda suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and kept them on the stew she was stirring.

"And what exactly isn't fair, Candace."

"They never get caught. If I did half the things they did, no, if I did _one_ of the things they did then I would be grounded for at least a week," her teenage daughter whined. " Actually, I was. And I didn't even do it on purpose. It's not supposed to work like that. Those who break the rules are supposed to be punished and those who don't get rewarded. But no…they break the rules and are rewarded while I didn't and am punished. I just want life to be fair just once. Once. Is that so much to ask?"

"Candace, you did break the rules with that party," said Linda reaching over for the pepper. "And even if all the things you said about your brothers was true, they've never actually broken the rules."

"Wait. What are you talking about?" asked Candace, and Linda knew her daughter well enough to know the teenage girl was narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"I don't remember making a rule that they couldn't make a rollercoaster in the backyard or fly off into space or make winter in June," said Linda. "I expect you all to have better sense than to actually do any of those things."

"So wait. If you made a rule to say not use a blowtorch or heavy duty equipment or buy materials from contractors then life will side with me and allow the boys to be busted?"

This time, Linda simply gave into the urge and sighed.


	7. Chocolate

07. Chocolate

Ferb watched as his sister accepted the huge box of milk chocolate with a huge smile on her face and frowned. He knew she would eat every single piece of chocolate in the box because it was from _him_. _He_ should know better than to give her that much chocolate.

Phineas was only slightly surprised to see Ferb take out a formula for a temporary dairy allergy remedy instead of a blueprint but quickly went along with the idea. Neither of the boys liked seeing their sister sick.


	8. Nostalgia

08. Nostalgia

The boys were playing a game of tug of war with Perry, and Candace found herself looking away. Her heart squeezed as she vividly recalled tall black and tan dog wrestling a rope out of her hand. The memory faded, and she scowled as she once again decided she was not going to avoid that furry, teal, disgusting thing as much as possible.


	9. Heartbeat

09. Heartbeat

The thunder rumbled, and Candace groaned. She had barely counted to five that time. They were getting closer, and she knew what less than five probably meant. Sighing, she slipped out of her warm bed and made her way into the cold hallway. Another light flashed, and she counted to four before the thunder boomed. It was too close.

Opening the door to her brothers' room, Candace immediately caught sight of Ferb's strangely worried blue eyes. They quickly left hers and landed on the trembling mound of sheets on the other bed. Candace had forgotten that there hadn't been a thunderstorm since Ferb and Daddy had come to live with them. She would have to teach him what to do when the lightning was too close like she had to teach him about goodnight hugs and kisses. A bright flash lit up the entire room, and Candace grabbed Ferb's hand and pulled him out of bed. The thunder shook the room, making even Candace jump. She hadn't gotten to two. The mound of sheets squeaked. Taking hold of the top of the sheets, Candace pulled them off.

Wide, quivering blue eyes landed on her for an instant before small arms wrapped around her. She dropped the sheets to pat Phineas' back while she used her other hand to guide Ferb onto Phineas' bed. Pushing the quivering Phineas to the other side of the bed, Candace set herself between the boys. The lightning blazed light through the room, and then the thunder cracked and made everything vibrate too fast for Candace to count. The arms around her tighter. She struggled against Phineas to grab the covers again and pull them over the boys' head. A second set of hands reached out for her, and she pulled both boys' head to right above her heart.

"What is thunder?" whispered Candace.

"It's the sound caused by lightning that, depending on the nature of the lightning and distance of the listener, can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble," Ferb whispered back. Candace rolled her eyes at the "smart" answer, and Phineas giggled, almost drowning out the next sharp crack. But the giggles were cut off by a squeak, and the arms squeezed.

"That's not the answer," said Candace sharply. She really wished Daddy had taught Ferb about these things. "That's a school answer, not an inside-the-bed answer."

"Then what is the answer?" asked Ferb, this time actually sounding louder than the hard crack. Candace could almost see Phineas' bright smile at the thought of telling his brother something cool.

"That's easy," chirped Phineas, completely missing the newest low rumble. "Thunder is the sky's heartbeat."


	10. Melody

10. Melody

The little girl looked up at her and held out the CD, and Candace decided she hadn't seen a more adorable four year old. Whipping out a pen that she kept on her person (for practice for when she became a world-famous popstar/actress), she grabbed the CD to sign it. An older girl snatched the CD out of Candace's hand.

"No, Kylie," the older girl scolded. "I didn't copy CD to have _her_ sign it. I wanted Phineas to sign it."

"But Sasha, she sings in it too," said the little girl. "And she sounded really pretty."

"Yeah, but she's a background singer," said the older girl, pulling the four year old away. "And she isn't even part of the Ferbtones. She's just some girl who got to sing with them."


	11. Confusion

11. Confusion

"Candace, I have a question," said Phineas, coming into the living room with Ferb behind him.

"What do you want?" said Candace, rolling her eyes off her magazine and onto Phineas.

"Do you use a banana as a communication device often?"

"Do I use a banana as a what?"

"As a phone."

"Do I use a banana as a phone?" asked Candace.

"Yeah. Ferb and I thought, since we heard you say—"

"Don't say it," said Candace.

"Don't say what?"

"Just don't say it," said Candace, turning back to her magazine. Phineas exchanged a look with Ferb.

"Candace," said Phineas, turning back to Candace, "you didn't answer our question."

"That's because I'm pretending you didn't ask it."

"Why?"

"Agh! I'm trying to read here! Go away!"

"But what about the banana?"

"That's it. I'm going to my room," said Candace, standing up from the couch. She turned around and pointed at the two boys. "Stay here."

Phineas stared as Candace stomped out.

"You're right, Ferb," said Phineas, glancing at his brother. "I guess we weren't meant to know."


	12. Bitter

12. Bitter

Buford glared at the girl trying to scare her and make her go away.

"I'm not leaving until you apologize for taking my brothers' bikes!" cried the tall girl. She wasn't using her height to intimidate him like his father used to, but that didn't mean that she couldn't. But he wasn't going to let her.

"I won't, and you can't make me," said Buford, taking a step forward so that he stood at the edge of his house's porch. There. Now let's see the girl try to climb up the steps. She wouldn't get past him, and so she would have to resign herself to being eye level with him.

"You have to apologize," the girl said crossing her arms and stomping her foot. "Friends always apologize."

"I'm a bully, not your brothers' friend," growled Buford.

"Fine, be that way!" the girl nearly yelled in his face. "But as long as you don't apologize or stop being a bully, you'll never have friends!"

The girl finally went away to comfort her small redheaded brother and the weird green haired one that stood on the nearby sidewalk. Turning to go back into his house, Buford scoffed. He didn't need friends. He had Biff and his mom. Anyone else needed to be shown who was boss, and then they would leave him alone.

He paused, looking over his shoulder as the tall redheaded girl said something that made the redheaded boy laugh and the weird green haired one smile slightly even though they had been upset about their bikes seconds earlier. He watched as she took one in each hand, and they all headed back to their house with smiles. He yanked his gaze away from the two weaklings and their annoyingly loud sister. He definitely didn't need friends or sisters or anything. And anyway, if he ever changed his mind, the girl had said all he had to do was apologize or stop being a bully. He wasn't ever going to stop being a bully, but maybe one day, if he ever felt like having stupid weaklings as friends, he could apologize….


	13. Afterlife

13. Afterlife

She usually stayed away from that part of the yard. But Jeremy had been telling her about his new position at Slushy Dog when he had been walking her home and without realizing it, they had wandered into the side yard. And then Jeremy had left, stating that he needed to go watch over Suzy, and Candace had stayed standing there next to the little white house that should have been torn down but never was.

Taking a deep breath, she quickly walked past it and pushed back the urge to watch _All Dogs Go to Heaven_. It was a stupid kid's movie, and she was too old for that. As she passed the living room and the drawer stocked with their movie collection, Candace found herself stopping and glancing at the clock. Her mom wouldn't be done with dinner for another hour, her father was still at the antique store, and Phineas and Ferb were over at Isabella's. Taking out the proper DVD, she popped it in the DVD player before she could change her mind. She cuddled up with a cushion on the couch and waited for the proper scene so she could imagine a black and tan dog among the others in the clouds.


	14. Wishing

14. Wishing

"So, aren't you going to make a wish?" asked Jeremy as he held out a coin to toss in the fountain. Candace sighed, but not happily like he had hoped.

"I doubt wishing will do any good," she said with a flat look, but when she caught sight of his worried look, she smiled. "Besides I have everything I can wish for right here."


	15. Return

15. Return

A knock sounded from her window, and Candace rolled her head to the side to get a good look at her clock. The wretched thing dared to glare 1:50 in her face. She climbed out of her bed, and yanked the window open.

"For the last time, if you want to talk, come at a time that people are actually awake," Candace hissed, hardly wanting to wake the rest of the house because Meap had decided to come for a visit in the middle of the night _again_.


	16. Endless Sorrow

16. Endless sorrow

Candace grabbed another tissue and blew her nose as tears ran down her cheeks. Cheri held Paul in her arms, and his hand reached up to caress her cheek. Candace's tears blurred the image of their last kiss, and the pre-teen girl failed to notice when her brothers' platypus grabbed a tissue as well. Paul closed his eyes and grew limp. Cheri kept kissing him even after it was obvious he was gone, and a sob sounded from Candace's throat. Candace grabbed the closest thing to her and hugged it close, surprising said closest thing. Perry didn't make a noise as the girl held him in her arms for the first time since he'd come to live in the Flynn-Fletcher house. The credits rolled for the movie, and Candace seemed to realize what she was doing. She quickly released the platypus and promised never to ask to rent a movie with the words "sorrow" or "endless" ever again.


	17. Fireworks

17. Fireworks

"This is a firework," said Candace, as she showed Phineas her sparkler. The five year old reached out to touch it, and she quickly yanked it away, pulling back too fast. The lit end of the sparkler touched her arm, and she cried out and dropped it. Her mom immediately ran over.

"Candace! I told you to be careful! And you were supposed to keep that away from Phineas! Now look what you've done!" her mom scolded. She quickly examined Candace's arm before taking the uninjured one and pulling Candace towards the house. "We're going inside. No more fireworks for you, young lady."


	18. Tomorrow

18. Tomorrow

Her mother walked away from the backyard, offering snacks to Phineas and Ferb and their friends, and left Candace stumbling over the same conjunction as always. Finally stopping her "bu-bu-bu"s, Candace groaned and dropped to the ground.

"Why do I do this to myself? Why?!" Candace cried, muffling her voice with her hands. "Why do I keep doing this _every single day_? The same thing will happen tomorrow and the next day and the next day. Life was so much easier when I gave up!"

"You can't give up, Kevin," said a hopelessly familiar voice. "It's not in you to give up."

"Wonderful, my talking Zebra's back," Candace mumbled. "That'll go a long way to helping the case for my sanity."

"Come on, Kevin. It's not that bad. You know why you can't give up."

"Because it would upset the status quo, and nothing can upset the status quo?"

"No. Because you can't. For tomorrow."

"Seriously, _that's_ your argument. It doesn't even make sense!"

"Well, you want there to be a tomorrow, don't you?"

"It still doesn't make any sense."

"Trust me it does," said the Zebra, inches from Candace's face. Candace could have sworn for a minute he was real as its brown eyes bored into hers. "You always fight for tomorrow. And that's why I voted for you, Kevin. I'll always vote for you."

Candace blinked, and the talking Zebra was gone.

"Who were you talking to Candace?" Phineas asked, coming out with a plate of the snack of the day (spinach puffs).

"I don't know," she said, surprised by her own answer.

"How can you not know?" asked Baljeet. She shrugged and stood up.

"Doesn't matter," said Candace. "All I need to know is that I'm not giving up on busting you guys. Not now, not ever."


	19. Oppression

19. Oppression

Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford, Baljeet, and Irving stared as Candace managed to struggle to her feet. Her clothes were torn, she had multiple scratches, and her red hair resembled an abstract sculpture.

"I don't get it," said Phineas. "Didn't you go down the same zip line we did?"

"No, I went down the other one," Candace groaned.

"Oh, that one! I guess we forgot to put up the 'Do Not Use' sign, huh?"

"Yes, yes you did," said Candace.

"Candace! What happened?" cried Linda as she opened the gate to the backyard, as usual two minutes late to see anything.

"The usual," grumbled Candace. "Life hates me."


	20. Happy Birthday to You

20. Happy birthday to you

Ferb didn't need to ask who the present was from. It didn't have a card attached like everyone else's, but he knew exactly who it was from the instant he caught sight of the blank checklist under the customized tool kit. Only one person let him have complete say over what they did together, and Ferb was already coming up with ideas of what exactly would be written on the list this year.


	21. Boxes

21. Boxes

They hadn't meant to find the boxes. Honestly, they hadn't known the boxes existed. Phineas had wanted to surprise Candace when she came home from camp, so he had decided that she might love it if they gave her room a make-over. After getting some tips from Isabella, the two boys had set to work. When they came to the closet, they had found the boxes tucked away in a corner. On one was written Phineas in their mother's handwriting while the second might have had Ferb scribbled in horrible childish handwriting.

Overcome by his curiosity, Phineas had opened his, a grin stretching across his face and a light bouncing in his eyes. Ferb quickly followed and opened his. A smile, though smaller than his brother's, curved on his lips. Each box held random things: scribbled papers, globby sculptures, rocks, cards, a glued together doll, a picture of an amazing dollhouse. And while they weren't exactly sure what each item was, they figured Candace did. They closed the boxes and put them back in the closet. They decided that maybe their sister would like something smaller. Perhaps something small enough to fit in a box.


	22. Hope

22. Hope

The hole was deep. Very deep. So deep that neither the normal human ladder they made nor the Fireside girl's standard sash rope had helped them reach the top. If Isabella had less of a crush on Phineas, she would have been angry with him, even if she knew that he had never intended for them to end up in the bottom of the hole.

The original idea dealt with burying a treasure that no one would find for another million years, and they had all stayed far away as the device of the day dug a mile or so down in the middle of the Danville forest. Buford hadn't believed Phineas when the redhead had explained that the hole really was a mile deep. So the bully had decided to go look at the hole and then predictably fallen in, dragging Baljeet down with him, which would have been fine if Ginger hadn't grabbed Baljeet to keep him from falling and then grab onto Gretchen who grabbed onto Adyson who grabbed onto Milly…well, you get the point. Isabella had ended up having to grab onto Phineas (she really had no choice), and hoping that either he or Ferb would manage to stop what was happening. They didn't. Instead, they ended up falling with them. And now they all sat at the bottom of the hole, uninjured thanks to Ferb's quick thinking with a nearby picnic blanket which hadn't keep them from falling but did help their fall be a whole lot less hard. But they might not remain uninjured, especially if Baljeet kept screaming.

"Shut it, nerd," said Buford.

"How can I!?" cried Baljeet in a pitch that was only slightly less annoying than his scream. "We are a mile into the Earth! The pressure alone will get us in time!"

"Stop exaggerating," said Isabella. "Besides, I'm sure Phineas will think up something to get us out of here. And Ferb, of course."

"Ferb already thought of something ," said Phineas. "All we have to do is wait."

"Really? What is it?" asked Gretchen.

"Our usual backup plan," said Ferb.

"You have a usual backup plan?" asked Irving. Isabella wasn't entirely sure how he got here, since he wasn't with them before Buford fell. But it was probably better not to ask. "What is it? I can't believe I didn't know about this before! Is it some sort of program you put into your house? Or some robot you have in an underground bunker? Or did you send a message to one of your alien friends for help?"

"No. Our backup plan is way cooler than that," answered Phineas.

"Then what is it?" asked Adyson. A sudden shadow appeared on the wall of the hole, and a cord fell onto the floor at the edge of the circle of light from Ferb's lamp. It's a good thing for their morale that Ferb had decided to carry a lamp with him today. A faint scream was heard and all of a sudden a figure dropped onto the floor, obviously connected to the cord. It wore a protective suit and a helmet, but it still looked fairly familiar.

"Ow," the figure muttered.

"You okay, Candace?" asked Phineas. The figure took off the helmet, and red hair spilled out.

"You have no idea how long it took me to find a miles-length cord. No more holes for you two, got it?" Candace snapped. "And when we get out of here, you are so busted!"


	23. Beautiful

23. Beautiful

Lawrence was watching the Pinhead Pierre Show, taking a rare afternoon to himself. He couldn't wait for the boys to be old enough to watch this show with him. They were still too young to truly appreciate it. And Candace…Candace still hadn't warmed up to him. Poor girl didn't take change well, and Lawrence couldn't blame her. Unlike Linda who constantly tried to push Candace to spend more time with her "new Dad," Lawrence let the girl be. He knew she'd come around at some point. The couch bounced a bit and distracted Lawrence from Pinhead Pierre's amazing split-cartwheel-over-the-fire-and-spikes stunt.

"How was kindergarten, Candace?" Lawrence asked, seeing the small redhead sinking into the other end of the couch. The little girl grunted, sinking deeper into the couch and turning to face away from him so that what little he could see of her face disappeared. "Must have gone pretty bad then."

Candace didn't move her head, so Lawrence decided to interpret that as a yes.

"Want to watch the Pinhead Pierre Show with me?"

Again, no movement.

"You don't mind me watching it here, do you?"

Not even the slightest twitch. Lawrence grew concerned. The little girl he'd come to know in the last few months was spirited and expressive. In a lot of ways, she was the exact opposite of his Ferb. Some would say that Phineas was Ferb's opposite, but the boys weren't as different as some people made them out to be. Phineas certainly talked more than Ferb, and the little redhead boy wore his heart on his sleeve while Ferb took care to assess the situation before showing any emotion. But honestly, they were both sweet, inventive, clever, loving little boys who enjoyed tinkering together. With Candace it was a different story.

For all his vibrant spirit, Phineas really only came with one setting. Candace, on the other hand, came with several. One minute the girl was all smiles, and the next her face wore a stormy frown (usually right after she spotted Lawrence). The girl herself couldn't seem to decide whether she was happy or sad or upset or angry at any one moment. Candace was as fluid in her emotions as Ferb was stable, and Linda had often found herself at a loss on what to do with the girl. Lawrence merely copied Ferb's approach and let the girl's emotions bounce off him. After all, it had only taken Ferb a week to win over Candace, and now she considered him every bit as much her little brother as she did Phineas. For some reason though, the whole process was taking Lawrence several times as long. Maybe he should go ask Ferb what to do in order to speed things up. Linda was losing her patience with Candace.

"Are you alright, Candace?" asked Lawrence, returning his thoughts to the present and the still girl on the other end of the couch. The girl's only answer was to remain curled and half-sunk into the sofa. Motionlessness didn't suit the girl very well. She seemed much more naturally running from one place to another and trying to keep her brothers in line. "Come on. It can't be that bad."

The girl's head didn't come out from the sofa cushions, and Lawrence's concern became fright. Surely the girl hadn't accidentally suffocated herself. He reached over and pulled the girl away from the cushions just in case. Immediately, the girl began to struggle and try to leap out of Lawrence's arms. Usually, Lawrence would have let go for fear of hurting the girl, but he caught a glimpse of her face and pulled her towards his lap. A flailing hand hit his cheek, and another hit his chin, but he continued to hold on tight.

"That is quite enough," said Lawrence in a voice he hadn't used since Ferb's rare two year old tantrums. The tone stilled the girl briefly, allowing them to lock eyes. Red-rimmed, wet blue eyes met Lawrence's, and he automatically started rubbing circles on Candace's back. "Good girl. Now, tell me what happened."

The shining blue eye flittered away from his, and Lawrence could feel Candace's body tensing under his soothing hand. Finally, she relaxed, but the blue eyes stubbornly stay away from his.

"They said it was ugly," Candace said in a voice so low that Lawrence barely caught it.

"Pardon?"

"They said my neck was ugly," Candace said a little louder.

"Who said that?"

"George, William, Mindy, Jeremy, and Kylie," Candace whispered, her hands playing with the edge of her skirt. "They said it looked like a pencil."

"Well, I suppose you can't expect better from them. They are only five," said Lawrence. "They don't know what true beauty is."

"But it is ugly!" Candace protested. "It does look like a pencil!"

"And what's wrong with a pencil?" asked Lawrence. "A pencil is very useful. It can start a great adventure, guide the highest structures, and become the catalyst for the most beautiful things, like you."

"You think I'm beautiful?" asked Candace, blue eyes once again on Lawrence's.

"Of course."

The smile that beamed out at him from under suddenly bashful blue eyes would soon become one of Lawrence most favorite (and most beautiful) memories.


	24. Audience

24. Audience

Phineas glanced at the second story window as he picked up more of the remnants of their scaled down replica of the universe. He and Ferb had had to use the expanding space generator to keep it all in the backyard, and most of the neighborhood had fit into it at one point.

"Hurry up. We've been at this all night," complained Buford.

"Like you're one to talk. All you've done is 'supervise,'" said Baljeet, taking another armload of broken boards to the curve.

"It's what I'm good at," said Buford. "Now mush!"

"I'm glad we don't have to do this every day," said Isabella as the bully and nerd disappeared around the corner of the house. "Why do you think the Universe-in-your-Own-Backyard didn't disappear like all your other inventions?"

"Because its purpose wasn't complete," said Ferb.

"Purpose? What purpose?"

"Candace didn't see it," said Phineas glancing towards the second story window. "Our daily ideas don't really feel finished until Candace sees them."


	25. Stranger

25. Stranger

Each and every day the stories got wilder, stranger, and Linda considered writing them down. Who knew who could benefit from her daughter's wild imagination? It would definitely make a great comedy routine sometime. Really, if her daughter wanted Linda to believe her, Candace should make the stories more realistic instead of making them so wildly unbelievable. Dust that changed into various objects? Really? What normal person would come up with that?


	26. Foolish

26. Foolish

"Sweetheart, do you think that Candace could be telling the truth?" asked Lawrence.

"Where in the world did you get that idea?" asked Linda.

"Sometime after the boys made the entire living room fly via an aerial rug," answered Lawrence.

"Oh Lawrence, you have a sweet heart and an open mind, and I love that about you. But seriously, honey, the last thing I need is for you to start too. We're adults. We can't let our imaginations to get the better of us," said Linda, putting the last of the groceries in place.

"If you say so dear," said Lawrence, folding up the paper bag the groceries came in and lobbing it towards the trashcan. The paper bag swished straight in the trash. "Yes!"

"Good shooting, honey," said Linda.

"Mom, mom!" came Candace running into the kitchen and grabbing her mother's hand. "You have to see what the boys are doing!"

"What is it now?" said Linda.

"The built the world's largest radio tower and are using it to broadcast sounds of the world's most unusual instruments," said Candace, dragging her mother out the door.

"Okay, Candace. Let's get this over with," said Linda striding out of the kitchen in front of Candace. Lawrence looked out the kitchen window. A tall radio tower was indeed standing in the middle of their backyard. And instant later, a tunnel of wind came and sucked the tower up along with all the cables connected with it, leaving a totally normal backyard. Candace loud cry of "No!" soon followed. Lawrence sighed.

"Sometimes, sweetheart, I wonder if you will ever realize how much you miss," said Lawrence softly.


	27. Preparation

27. Preparation

Ferb's attention had been on the brunette teenage boy that one of their parents' clients had brought with them. The teenage boy had hung near Candace all during their parents' Christmas party. When Candace had gone out to take care of their parents' present, the teenager sprayed something in his mouth and stood near the door where Candace had exited and their mother had hung the mistletoe.

"Plan 52," said Ferb.

"Are you sure?" asked Phineas. "You know, he doesn't necessarily have to be—"

"He is," said Ferb. Phineas didn't look convinced. "He used mouth spray."

"Fair enough," said Phineas, walking over to the key to plan 52.

"Merry Christmas, Phineas. Merry Christmas, Ferb," said a smiling redheaded woman.

"Merry Christmas, Miss Holland," said Phineas as Ferb nodded his greeting. "Want to see the cool bird feeder Ferb and I came up with?"

"Certainly, you know how I enjoy your inventions, dears," said the redheaded woman cheerfully. Phineas lead her into the kitchen using the door on the opposite direction. Ferb had the bird feeder on the counter, but he quickly took it off and dashed into the hallway.

"Oh, is dear Ferb getting stage fright again?" asked the redhead woman.

"It appears so. Do you mind chasing him for a bit?" asked Phineas.

"You know the chase is half the fun, dearie," said the woman. The two set off after Ferb who lead them through the hallway, up the stairs, back down, and then back into the living room. Phineas slowed down to let the woman enter first. She was immediately grabbed and pulled into a deep kiss. After a loud smacking sound, the teenage boy finally let go of the woman. The teenager instantly paled.

"That's very sweet dear," said the fifty year old woman, patting the teenager on the head. "But I think I'm a bit too old for you."

Turning green, the teenage boy scuttled off, and the redheaded woman returned her attention to Ferb who now stood next to her.

"Gotten over your stage fright, have you?" asked the woman. Ferb gave the woman a small smile and gave the woman a wrapped box. "You boys are so sweet. Between you and the unexpected affection I always get here Christmas time, your parents' party is the highlight of my season. Thank you so much boys."

After the woman gave the boys a large hug and left to rejoin the party, Phineas sighed.

"I never thought we'd have to use plan 52 so much," said Phineas.

"One day," said Ferb, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "The one who made it a dare to kiss our sister under the mistletoe will answer to me."


	28. Protection

28. Protection

Ferb glanced at the would-be kidnapper in pity. The man might have actually succeeded with his plans if he had grabbed any other random kid on the street. Phineas, however, would not work well as a hostage for two reasons, and Ferb was one of them. The other had tripped the man and grabbed the man's hand that held a weirdly shaped gun.

"What are you doing?! Let go, teenage girl!" the man cried frantically trying to release himself from Candace's grip.

"Let go of my brother, you skirt-wearing freak!"

"Hey! Only my mother can call me that! And it's not a—okay, so actually it is a skirt, but all my pants were damaged in a freak Laundromat accident and none of my ex-wife's pants fit," the man said as he continued to flail. "Which is why I am going to use my portable Laundromat-away-inator. And honestly this should be considered a favor to humanity since I am getting rid of one of the great evils of society."

"You consider Laundromats one of the great evils of society? And people call me crazy," said Candace, twisting the man's arm exactly the way Ferb showed her and making the strange gun fall and break into several pieces.

"OW! Hey, be careful with that arm. I need it for—No! What have you done?!" the man cried out, letting go Phineas and staring at the remnants of his weird gun. Candace quickly ran over to Phineas only to get caught in a very small hamster ball. "Ha! Serves you right!"

"Candace! Are you okay?" asked Phineas.

"I have to say it's strange that a teenage girl can fit into a platypus-sized trap," said the man with a puzzled look on his face.

"Platypus-sized? That's a rather specific size for a trap," said Phineas.

"Well, it's the size of my nemesis, who is apparently running late _again_," said the man in an irritating whine. "Anyway, I didn't want anyone else to set it off, which is why I grabbed you. I didn't want to kidnap you or anything, that's not really my style. It's not the proper kind of evil. I mean what kind of villain actually sets out to hurt children? What is there to gain from that? No one took over anything by involving children."

"You should have clarified that when you grabbed him," said Ferb.

"I would have, but that girl attacked me before I could say anything," said the man.

"You're lucky Ferb didn't get into the action," said Phineas. "He's studied martial arts since he was three. Candace only started learning earlier this summer."

Ferb gave his brother a flat look.

"Oh, sorry," said Phineas, replying with his own bashful expression. He turned back to the man. "Mister, could you please let Candace out of your trap? We were on our way to get ice cream, and if you want we'll buy you some to make up for breaking your weird raygun."

"It was a Laundromat-away-inator, but fine as long as we go somewhere that sells garlic ice cream," said the man pulling out a remote from one of his pockets and pressing a button. The ball disappeared, and Candace took a deep, gasping breath. Ferb went and helped her up, giving her a concerned look. She took another breath and steadied herself before waving Ferb off. "And for the record teenage girl, I curse you."

"Whatever, as long as I never have to see you again once we get ice cream," said Candace, straightening to her full height. "But you had better never touch one of my brothers ever again."


	29. Agony

29. Agony

For a moment, Candace simply sat there staring, and then she looked away, pretending she hadn't heard anything. Linda wasn't fooled.

"Well, sweetheart, it looks like you and Dr. Lancaster will get to each other for a while."

"Great. Should be wonderful fun," the teenage girl grumbled.

"Candace," said Linda taking a deep breath for patience. "This is for your own good."

She gazed forcefully into her daughter's midnight blue eyes, trying to get her point – to get something, _anything_ – across, but Linda's temper ebbed away when she saw the annoyance in those eyes slip to reveal deep, shadowed blue. The eyes seemed to want to communicate something as forcefully as Linda had wanted earlier. The color – the feeling – slipped away as Candace rolled her eyes and muttered to herself.

"I guess seeing talking zebras isn't exactly a healthy thing…"


	30. Underneath

30. Underneath

Perry lay on top of the red bed as he often did, listening to the girl's breath to reassure himself Candace was here and safe, like the boys were. The girl turned over and grimaced, and Perry watched as Candace curled into herself.

"No," she groaned. "Stop…Phineas…Ferb…no…."

Her hand thrashed out, and Perry quickly leapt to pull it and bring it back down. Candace's flailing stopped almost immediately, and Perry allowed the girl's hand to wrap itself around him and pull him under the girl's chin. The girl mumbled something unintelligible and quickly fell back to sleep. Perry could often remember the message the former agent of the house had left him, and on nights like these, Perry felt ashamed he hadn't originally listened to the Beauceron's warnings that Candace was harder to take care of than the boys. Because the Beauceron was right. With the boys, the dangers and problems were obvious, but with Candace, they were not.


	31. Hide

31. Hide

"Are you sure this is okay?" asked Candace, looking back at the empty playground.

"Sure it is," said Mindy. "The teacher said it was April 1st today, so if she doesn't figure it out, it's her own fault."

"She's right," agreed William. "She should have seen it coming. She's been long enough in this country to know what April 1st means."

"But it looks like it's going to rain," argued Candace. "She might get wet."

"Better yet," said Kylie. "She'll come in sopping wet, and Miss Lancaster will scold her and send her home where weird girls like her belong."

"That's not a good April Fool's joke! That's just mean!" cried Candace, stomping back to the playground and peeking under the slide.

"You found me. You win hide and seek game, yes?" said the new Japanese girl, a strange harshness accenting the words. "I can come out now?"

"Yes, yes you can," said Candace, stretching out her hand to help the other girl up. "Come on, Stacy, let's get inside before it rains."


	32. Diary

32. Diary

"What did you guys do?" asked Candace, marching into the backyard, or rather what had once been the backyard. Of course it would go back to being a backyard the moment her Mom got back, but Candace had bigger problems at the moment.

"We based a society on an existential and slightly surreal piece of literature," said Phineas.

"In other words you took my dream diary and used it to make a Funtopia. Again."

"Yes, yes we did," said Ferb.


	33. Unforseen

33. Unforeseen

Candace grinned into her magazine as Perry scuttled against the wall past her. She let out a giggle, startling him, and he leaned forward to drop on all fours.

"Jeremy would love that," Candace said dreamily. Perry's stiff form relaxed, and he quickly slid to reach the lamp that popped open and allowed him. Candace closed the magazine and eyed the lamp as her grin gained an edge.

"And that was for letting me think I was crazy," the teenage girl said, getting up to go check what her brothers were up to.


	34. Conditional

34. Conditional

"…and then the boys somehow got a runway and had some women model the dress they got me," said Linda to Viv as their families dug into the steaks. "I still have no idea how Lawrence managed to set that up for the boys before he left."

"It wasn't me. The boys did all the work," said Lawrence from his seat beside her.

"Yeah, just like the boys set up that Love Handle concert in front of our house for our anniversary," said Linda.

"Well, they did, sweetheart," said Lawrence his voice gaining the slightest tone of a pout. Linda smiled, amused by her husband's antics. "With Candace's help, of course."

"Candace, huh," said Linda, letting her gaze slide over to her only daughter. Candace's face was blank as she poked at her steak, and Linda realized that the teenager was within earshot. "Speaking of Candace, I have to tell you about the best present of the day."

"Oh," said Viv with a mischievous grin and a quick glance to Candace. "And what was it?"

"Candace wrote a wonderful song," said Linda, watching from the corner of her eye as the teenage girl's expression shifted. "The boys recorded it, and then showed it on the big screen their father set up."

"I didn't have a lot to do with that either, sweetheart," said Lawrence, but Linda ignored him.

"Then the three of them got up on stage and sang it for me. It was the best present of all," said Linda as Candace's almost-blank expression shifted into a small smile. "I love seeing my kids getting along."


	35. Gone

35. Gone

Suzy grinned as the door closed, leaving her and her mortal enemy without witnesses. Yes, Jeremy would be back in a few minutes, but that was plenty of time to cause the necessary psychological damage. Dark blue eyes widened with terror as Suzy took a step forward. The whimper coming from those lips that had seduced Jeremy almost sounded like a tiny cry for help. And then a green light filled the room, and then the redhead teen was gone. Suzy blinked, wondering if her eyes were failing her so young, but no, the other girl was gone.

"Here are the cookies my mom wanted you to taste," said Jeremy as he opened the door. "Hey. Where'd Candace go?"

"She disappeared into thin air after what looked like a ray gun hit her," said Suzy, still slightly shocked.

"What?" Jeremy said.

"Um…Bubbles?" said Suzy quickly, hoping to cover her tracks. She reached up to snatch a cookie off the plate Jeremy held and stuck it into her mouth. "Yummy cookie!"

"Mom does make the best cookies," said Jeremy. His phone rang, and Jeremy flipped it open to answer it. "Hello…Oh, hey Candace. Where'd you go?...Your brothers made something?...They didn't make something, then how?….Okaaay. So where are you?...I guess it's okay if you just went home but I thought you wanted to have some of my mother's cookies….They're not poisoned or anything….What do you mean you're not talking about the cookies….Alright then. See you later."

As Jeremy closed the phone, Suzy took another cookie and munched on it as innocently as possible.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Candace ended up on the other side of Danville because something beamed her there or something. She says it wasn't her brothers, but really who else could it be? Unless there is someone else who can make some sort of transportation ray somewhere else in the Tri-state area."

"If you say so, Jeremy," replied Suzy in her cutesy voice. She smiled viciously as Jeremy turned to leave the living room. Suzy couldn't care less what took Candace away as long as the teenage girl was far away from Suzy's Jeremy.


	36. Clear Skies

36. Clear skies

He smiled when he saw her lying on the grass of her backyard under the clear blue sky. Jeremy wished he could stare at Candace like that all day. Sometimes her frantic energy got in the way of him being able to see her and not some blur that occasionally stopped to talk (and gawk) at him. But Jeremy knew he couldn't stay stare at her for much longer, so he moved to go and say hello, but then she sat up suddenly and raced inside. He didn't have time to wonder what made her move so fast until his arm became spotted with moisture. The sky had turned black when he wasn't paying attention and rain started pouring. He jerked and ran back to his house, entering it sopping wet and leaving puddles on the floor.

"How was your time over at Candace's, honey?" asked his mom after handing him a towel.

"I guess you could say it was rather quiet until it started to rain," said Jeremy.

"Quiet? Candace? Are you certain you went to the right house?"

"Well, I didn't actually get to talk to her," said Jeremy.

"That makes sense. Went over to gawk at her, did you?" said his mom with a knowing smile. "Can't say I blame you. That girl's easy on the eyes but hard on the ears."

Jeremy smiled back. He didn't exactly disagree. It was nice to see Candace under clear skies.


	37. Heartache

37. Heartache

Phineas looked helplessly at his brother, and Ferb stared back impassively. This was Phineas' fault and he would have to fix it.

"Candace," Phineas said tentatively.

"Go away. I never want to speak to you ever again," said Candace, the usual vibrancy in her tone replaced with a flat, faintly quivering tone.

"Technically, you're speaking to me right now," said Phineas, peeking his head into Candace's room.

Even from his position on the other side of the door, Ferb could tell Candace was glaring at their younger brother.

"Candace, it was an accident," said Phineas. "We…I didn't mean to…please don't be angry."

No sound came from outside the room, and Ferb inwardly sighed as he pushed Phineas further into the room with a less-than-gentle nudge.

"I didn't mean to invite Jeremy. It just happened, and I don't really know how Vanessa and him got under the kissing tree thing that Isabella came up with but…but really it wasn't as bad as it looked."

"Phineas, they kissed for fifteen whole seconds, and then they left with huge smiles on their faces."

"So? That just means they enjoyed the Greatest-Valentine's-Day-Ever party," said Phineas. "Not everyone had a good time. Isabella looked rather down leaving the party."

"That's because you were too busy with the party to dance with her," said Candace flatly. Ferb rolled his eyes at his brother's confused face.

"But she danced with Ferb and several other people," said Phineas. "And the whole party was her idea."

"I bet it was," said Candace, her voice slightly above a mutter as she opened her door fully. "Look, Phineas. Just go away and don't come back."

"But Candace—"

"I just need some time, okay?! Is that really so much to ask!" she nearly screamed. Ferb flinched, though he was glad she had restrained herself.

"Okay…," Phineas whispered, the point of his nose inclined downward. Ferb watched as the anger melted from Candace's face and shifted into something more tired and dark. Candace let out a whispering sigh and bent down to matched Phineas' gaze. Phineas' dark blue eyes glittered as they linked with their sister's. "Candace, I really am sorry. I just wanted everyone to have a good time. I know that—"

"No, no you don't know," said Candace. She looked Ferb square in the eye. Ferb gave Candace a small, shaky smile, assuring her he was fine or rather he would be. And she would be fine too. An equally shaky smile formed under Candace's shadowed eyes. They returned to Phineas as Candace reached up to ruffle Phineas' red hair. "And hopefully, you never will."


	38. Wired

38. Wired

"Hurry up and finish so I can call Mom and she can come and make this disappear so I can go on a date with Jeremy and then go shopping with Stacy and reorganize my closet, help Jenny with her save the whales rally, push Perry off the couch during a Heartthrob marathon, help Mom put away the grocery, and practice for the three-legged race with Dad," said Candace, tapping her foot at an incredible speed and fiddling with her phone. Phineas sighed and looked at Ferb.

"You snuck coffee into her hot chocolate this morning, didn't you?"


	39. Insanity

A/N: This one is a little longer than normal and is technically part 1 of 2. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

39. Insanity

With a frown, Ferb followed their mother as she led them to an office on the third story of the weird building downtown.

"Remember, boys, you have to be as truthful as possible for this to help your sister," said their mother, and Ferb nodded watching as Phineas copied the movement. The lack of verbal agreement bothered Ferb, but their mother simply opened the door to the psychiatrist office.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher," said a man behind the desk. "Dr. Rouge is waiting for you with Candace."

"No screaming today?" asked their mother.

"Not today. He's following his appointment times," said the man. "Should be an uninterrupted session this time."

"Good. Candace doesn't need that kinda of interruption. At what we're paying you, it would be better not to have any interruptions."

"Just so," said the man with a false smile.

"One of these days I will get a laugh out of you, Robert. Let's go, boys," said their mother heading to a different door.

"Wait, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher. Dr. Rouge said to just let the boys in," said Robert.

"Oh alright," said their mother. "Remember what I said boys."

Since Phineas didn't answer verbally, Ferb said, "We will."

"Good," said their mother before turning to the man. "Guess it's as good a time as any to try out some of my material."

"I would be honored, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher," said Robert with resigned enthusiasm. Ferb wondered if this Dr. Rouge would have a sudden opening after this in which the doctor could speak to the soon-to-be traumatized secretary. Phineas stood fidgeting in the front of the doctor's door, so Ferb pushed the door open.

"Hello, you must be the famous Phineas and Ferb. Please come in and sit on the couch," said a black woman with a too-wide smile. "Are you ready to start, Candace?"

"Yes," said their sister flatly. The lack of the emotion in her voice made Ferb send a small glare in the doctor's direction.

"First things first. Candace, do you see the talking zebra?" asked the woman, intensifying Ferb's glare.

"No," said Candace in the same emotionless tone.

"Good. Phineas, Ferb, would you like to tell Candace what you did today?"

"Sure," said Phineas, brightening. "We made glow-in-the-light ink. It was tricky getting to glow bright enough to be visible on white paper especially in sunlight, but Ferb figured out that we needed to add more lawrencium."

"Lawrencium?" asked the woman in a way that Ferb didn't like and would go right over Phineas' head.

"The 103rd element," replied Phineas.

"I see," said the woman, and Ferb frowned.

"I assume the community college that gave you your degree in psychology didn't require you to study chemistry," said Ferb in his most acidic tone.

"Ferb!" cried Phineas, but Ferb ignored him.

"No, it didn't," said the woman unaffected as she scribbled down something in her clipboard.

"So you did go to a community college?" said Candace.

"That's not the point," said the woman. "The point is how do you feel knowing the boys did something bust worthy and you weren't there to stop them."

"Annoyed," said Candace, emotionless again.

"And the zebra?"

"It didn't appear."

"And why do you think it didn't appear?" asked the woman, scribbling down something else.

"I don't know."

"Do you think that maybe, just maybe, the zebra didn't appear because your brothers weren't around and so you didn't have their imaginations run away with yours?"

"But Candace has a great imagination, she doesn't need to borrow ours," said Phineas confused. Ferb's frown deepened as his glare darkened.

"The word you're looking for is 'strong.' Your sister has a 'strong' imagination that often gets the better of her," said the woman. "Yours also does, but she's at an age where it is far beyond healthy. And that's why we're here. To help her become healthy."

"Healthy? But Candace isn't sick," said Phineas.

"She thinks I'm sick in the head," said Candace, all fluctuation gone from her voice.

"Why?" asked Phineas gaining unusual wrinkles on his forehead.

"Because you guys do the impossible on a daily basis, and I see an illusionary zebra."

"So this is our fault," said Phineas, his eyes stretching wide with horror. Ferb glanced at his sister, watching as some emotion flickered across her blank face.

"You guys do drive me crazy with all your projects," said Candace seriously before her expression softened. "But as far as I know, you guys have nothing to do with the zebra, and if you stopped making things, I wouldn't be able to bust you some day."

"Good. This is very good," said the woman, intruding into the conversation. "You realize that your brothers' actions are not what need to change."

"When did I realize that?" asked Candace, her voice flat again.

"No, what needs to change is the circumstances of your relationship with them," said the woman as if Candace hadn't spoken. "From now on, you need to let your brothers do what they do and spend as little time as possible around 'all their projects.'" The air quotes were entirely unnecessary. "And then your ingrained need to bust them will not be triggered."

"You want Candace to not spend time with us?" asked Phineas. The question came out strained, as if he was in pain, and Ferb knew exactly how his brother felt.

"Well, she should be doing things that teenage girls normally do, not obsessing about you and your projects," said the woman. "And then the zebra will go away."

"But—" started Phineas.

"No buts. That's why I brought you boys here. I want you to give Candace her space. If you see her coming to the backyard to see one of your projects, stop what you are doing and suggest another activity and don't start back up again until she leaves," said the woman

"Oh, like a surprise," said Phineas, eyes sparkling in delight. "That sounds like a great idea! We'll keep Candace away until we're done, and then we'll show her, like a daily surprise. And we could make it into a game to see if she can guess what we made. Candace has the best guesses and ideas. I have whole list at home. Do you want to see a copy?"

"No, not a surprise. More like a secret. You can keep what you make every day a secret between you and your brother," said the woman with a stretched wide smile.

"But why would we keep secrets from Candace?" said Phineas, his forehead wrinkling again.

"Because it's healthier for her," said the woman. Ferb started to open his mouth, but then something caught his eye and caused a wide grin to stretch his lips.

"How do you feel about the impossible, Dr. Rouge?" asked Ferb.

"I feel that people use the term too lightly," said the woman. "Very little is truly impossible."

"Would that include a turtle unicorn?" asked Ferb.

"I'm sorry. Would what include a turtle unicorn?"

"The impossible."

"You boys are as imaginative as Candace said you were," said the woman with the same overly stretched smile. "And at your age, such imagination is healthy but—"

"So if there was, say, a turtle unicorn behind you," said Candace, her tone gaining an amused note. "Would you finally consider that what I have told you of my brothers' antics every day might possibly be true?"

"Candace, we've talked about your hallucinations and how they are your imagination getting the better of your min—"

"But she's not hallucinating. It's right there behind you," said Phineas pointing to the creature behind the woman's chair.

"Boys, this is not helping your sis—" started the woman in an exasperated tone.

"If it's not there, then what harm could it do to turn around?" said Ferb. With an exasperated sigh, the woman looked back. Her shoulders instantly stiffened, and Ferb quickly exchanged glances with Candace. She gave him an expectant smile which Ferb returned with one of his rare sharp grins. The woman was about to pay for making Candace's life miserable.


	40. Lies

A/N: Part 2 of 2

* * *

40. Lies

"I can't believe you guys!" Phineas exclaimed, continuing the rant he had started the moment their mother had left them alone after the appointment with Dr. Rouge. "How could you do that? She was just trying to help Candace, and Mom told us to help her, not drive her insane."

"Technically, Mum said that we were to be truthful, which we were," said Ferb. "It's hardly our fault she could not understand the physics involved when it came to an object both existing and not existing at the same time."

"And I simply reminded her of all the things that I had already told her you and Ferb built this summer. It's not our fault she didn't believe me the first time and now she suddenly realized that you two are not ruled by the laws of physics or the normal rules of logic at the same time that her brain was processing what Ferb said, sending her into a total mental breakdown."

Phineas crossed his arms and tried to glare at Candace and Ferb, and Candace bit back the giggle that always threatened to come up her throat whenever Phineas glared. Phineas' disappointed or hurt looks could be very effective, but the boy couldn't do glares for the life of him. Ferb, however, cracked a smug grin, and Phineas' glare shifted to a pout for a full minute before twisting into a confused expression.

"So where do you think the turtle unicorn came from anyway?" asked Phineas. Candace let her gaze slide over to where Perry lay, sleeping like the dead or at least appearing to.

"I have no idea," said Candace, mentally reminding herself to get one of those imported grub-filled smores for a certain secret agent. "But I couldn't be happier that it did."


	41. Words

41. Words

Ferb was staring at her again, and Candace wanted to back away. She wondered if this was what she got for wishing that Phineas wouldn't talk too much. Ferb never talked, so she ended up having to guess what he wanted.

"You could ask," said a young voice in their Dad's British accent. Candace stared at Ferb, because she could have sworn his lips moved.

"Ask what?" she said, watching Ferb's lips carefully. They lifted into a smile, and her own responded. Then again, perhaps Ferb did talk as much as Phineas did, if only in his own way. It was kinda cool to have a brother who doesn't need words.


	42. Study

42. Study

"I don't get it," complained Stacy. "How is it that you could get an A on that test? You barely studied half an hour!"

"It would help if you paid attention in class," said Candace. "Algebraic equations are not that hard if you pay attention."

"Jeremy's in that class, so don't you dare tell me that you actually pay attention."

"Fine. It just makes sense to me."

"It's not fair! Why is your family full of geniuses?" cried Stacy, falling backward onto her bed.

"Geniuses? I think you're confusing me with my brothers," said Candace.

"You know I'm not," Stacy said with a glare. "And next time, you're not getting out of helping me study."


	43. Punctual

43. Punctual

Phineas blinked his eyes opened and struggled to sit up. He grabbed the side of the crib and made loud sounds with his mouth like Mommy and Daddy did when they needed someone. Immediately, Candy came in and glared at Phineas.

"Ducky Momo was doing his dance," Candy said with a frown. Phineas stretched out his arms, simply taking in his sister's usual weird sounds. She helped him out of the crib and then crossed her arms. "Mommy's with Mr. Suit, and Vikki's asleep. You need to stay asleep next time so I can watch Ducky Momo's dance."

Phineas vibrated his lips, clapped his hands, and then laughed. It was fun making noise.

"No, Phineas. Sleep during the Ducky Momo dance. I never get to dance with the other girls at recess because you always wake up! Why can't you sleep while Ducky Momo dance?"

Putting his hands up like Vikki did sometime, Phineas roared.

"Baby's are so dumb," Candace said in a low rumbling sound. Phineas made his next roar as low. Candace smiled a little, and Phineas giggled. "But I guess it's okay. Mommy says I have to be your big sister first, even if you wake up during the Ducky Momo dance every day."

Phineas gave Candace a big smile, because she gave him a big one back. He thought that making noise was fun, but he liked making Candace smile better.


	44. Piggybank

44. Piggybank

"What is wrong?"

Buford sighed and glanced over his shoulder at his nerd.

"Nothing's wrong," said the bully, adding the contraction on purpose to drive the nerd crazy. Maybe then Baljeet would leave him alone. "Beat it."

"If nothing is wrong, then what is with all the broken ceramic?" asked Baljeet. "You only ever break things when you are upset or want to bully me. Seeing as whatever you broke isn't mine, then I must conclude that you are upset."

"You don't have to 'conclude' anything. It's just a thing that broke."

"It looks like the remnants of a ceramic container of some sort," said the nerd as he picked up a jagged black piece and examining it. "A vase maybe?"

"You're not going to leave me alone until I tell you, are you?"

"No, no I'm not," said Baljeet, putting the piece of ceramic down.

"Fine. But if you tell anyone, your head is going to be stuck so deep inside the toilet that it'll take a week to get it out."

"That should not be possible, but somehow I do not doubt you could do it."

"You better believe it," said Buford, scooting over on the bench to leave the nerd just enough room to sit half-on, half-off the edge. Hey, Buford wasn't going to around making it easy for the nerd to stick his nose into Buford's business. Buford had an image to protect.

"Okay, so what is it?" asked Baljeet after he sat down with his feet and half his backside dangling off the bench. The discomfort on the nerd's face almost made the whole thing worth it.

"I came here to break ol' Black Cloud and get enough money to get someone a Valentine's Day present."

"Really?" said Baljeet, surprise overcoming the discomfort on his face. "Who? Did you find a way to make things work with Brigitte?"

"Brigitte is the past. I'm into more mature girls now."

"Oh, so we are back to your irrational crush on Candace," said the nerd in almost sigh. Buford glared at Baljeet who remained for once unaffected.

"It's not irrational! She's one of the coolest females in existence! Just ask Phineas and Ferb."

"She is their sister," said Baljeet in a flat tone. "Of course they would agree with you. The point is that she is crazy—"

"Ever thought that's what I like about her?"

"It has crossed my mind. But anyway, she has a boyfriend. And even if she did not, she would not give you the time of day."

"You don't know that," Buford insisted. "She might, if I get her the right present."

"And what exactly is the right present?" asked Baljeet.

"Well, I saw this really nice gold Ducky Momo bracelet at the mall—"

"Are you really going to try for such an obvious present?"

"Yes, yes I am. You gotta problem with that?" asked Buford lifting his fist and provoking the right response from the nerd.

"No, no problem here," said Baljeet, cringing and nearly falling off the bench. "It is just that it is a rather expensive gift, that is all."

"I know. That's why I sacrificed Ol' Black Cloud to the cause."

"These are the remnants of your piggybank then."

"Yes, but Ol' Black Cloud didn't have a lot in him," said Buford staring at the broken pieces. "And even if I shake down one or two dozen nerds for lunch money in the next two weeks, I still won't have enough dough."

"I see," said Baljeet, looking away from the bully. He fidgeted with his hands before turning back to Buford. "You know, I have a small, very small, but very full little wooden cow that holds several weeks of lunch money that I saved by simply bringing a plain PB&J sandwich to school."

"I still can't believe you eat that junk. It tastes horrible."

"To you. Which is exactly why I bring it," said Baljeet. "Nevertheless, the point I am trying to make is that it is very full of that lunch money plus a little extra cash that I received for Christmas. A fairly good amount that might help make a good down payment for a reasonably priced gold bracelet. If I happened to show it to you, you who are well-practiced and well-versed in the bully code would probably need to confiscate it seeing as it does include lunch money."

A pause followed the nerd's statement, and then Buford grinned.

"So what are we waiting for? I think you have a wooden cow to show me."


	45. Shooting Star

45. Shooting star

Phineas stared in awe as the light streaked across the sky. He tugged on his big sister's hand.

"Candy, what's that?"

"What's what?"

"That light that fell in the sky."

"What light—" she started and then stopped. Her face stretched wide and her mouth opened into the letter "O" like in the papers Candace brought home. "Wow, Phineas. I think you might have seen a shooting star. Teacher told us about them. She said that if you see one, you get a wish."

"A wish?"

"Yeah," said Candace, letting go of Phineas hand to wave both of hers over her head. "You can wish for whatever you want. Like a bicycle or a box of blocks or double-fudge chocolate ship ice cream!"

"Or Daddy back?"

The waving hands froze, and shadows overcame the light that had been dancing in the dark blue eyes.

"No. Not Daddy. No magic in the world could bring Daddy back," said Candy below a whisper. She shook her head a little and then gave Phineas a sad smile. Phineas hated that smile. "But you can wish for anything else. Anything else in the world."

"Anything else," said Phineas, his usual bright tone gone from his voice. The terrible smile stretched wider, but it didn't look any better.

"Yep," said Candy, the word matching her smile. Phineas frowned a little and looked at the ground. A hand ruffled his hair. "Make your wish Phineas. Close your eyes and think it really loud. But don't tell me what it is, because then it won't come true."

Phineas closed his eyes and wished with all his heart that his family could be happy again.


	46. Together

A/N: One, this is kinda a third part to the two parter a couple of drabbles back. Two, for all those people in Connecticut, I know it doesn't seem like it, but God is with you. And those little ones that were taken are with Him and will never know the evil of the world again. Those that are left behind need to remember that there is safety in God in life or otherwise. My prayers are with you.

* * *

46. Together

Something was wrong. Phineas and Ferb weren't making anything. They had already had a do-nothing day. No random boring ray had shot them. So why weren't they doing anything? Oh no, what if they had already done what they were going to do today and Irving missed it? He was only half an hour late thanks to having to mop up the bathroom. The overflowing sink wasn't even his fault, but his mother always believed Albert over Irving.

"Hey, what are you guys up to?" asked Irving, trying to keep the worried strain out of his voice. He couldn't have missed one of Phineas and Ferb's stunt. He couldn't have.

"We don't know," said Phineas sitting up from where he was laying beneath the tree.

"You don't know?" asked Irving.

"Candace asked us to take the day off," said Phineas. If Irving didn't know the bright, optimistic redhead as well as he did, the bespectacled boy would have said that Phineas sounded frustrated. "We told her we already had a do-nothing day, but she said that we needed to have a rest and that it isn't exactly a do-nothing day and then she dragged Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford off somewhere."

"Did she say anything about busting?" asked Irving.

"Now that you mention it," said Phineas, putting his hand under his chin (Irving was of the argument that Phineas actually had one). "No, no she didn't."

"She hasn't said anything about busting since that time with Dr. Rouge," said Ferb, using his line for the day.

"That's true. We never did find out where the turtle unicorn came from," said Phineas.

"But then what would she be up to?" asked Irving.

"I don't know," said Phineas shrugging before he collapsed backwards onto the grass again. "She simply told us to stay here."

"You guys aren't up to something, are you?" came an accusing voice from the back door.

"No. We're sitting here like you told us," said Phineas, not even bothering to sit back up.

"Good," said Candace. "Did you just get here, Irving?"

"Yes," said Irving a little hesitantly.

"Alright then. Come with me," said Candace grabbing his hand and literally dragging him into the house behind her.

"Hey, where are you taking me?" demanded Irving, trying to get his hand out of her grip, but she was really strong.

"Stop struggling. We need your help," said Candace. She pulled him to the dining room where Stacy, Baljeet, and Buford working with some paper while Isabella used a blowtorch on some metal on the table.

"You need my help? For what?" asked Irving as Candace forced some dark glasses on his face. Irving let her when he realized that the others had them on too, probably to protect from the blowtorch's glare.

"Candace wanted to catalog all of Phineas and Ferb's blueprints and add some new ones she found at a garage sale, so Baljeet, Buford, and Stacy need help with that. I'm doing fine putting together these six hover boards by myself. Actually I hope that this'll help earn me my built-it-by-myself patch," said Isabella not looking up from her work.

"But why are you doing that instead of letting Phineas and Ferb do it? I'm sure you can get your patch some other way," said Irving not really interested in Isabella making things. It was only fun to watch Phineas and Ferb make stuff in his humble opinion.

"Canadace said that Phineas and Ferb always make stuff for us, so it might be nice if we made something for them for a change."

"You did?" said Irving.

"The boys helped me out with a certain irritating doctor last week, and I can't in good conscience go back to busting them until I help them back," said Candace. "So if it isn't too much trouble, do you think that you could help the other guys put together Phineas and Ferb's plans together? You'll get to pay with the hover boards later."

"Sure, but if I might make a suggestion?" asked Irving.

"If you have to," said Candace.

"Why not 8 hover boards instead of 6?" said Irving. "You and Stacy Hirano were going to go to the mall after this weren't you?"

"Of course we were," said Candace. "I can't be seen playing with my little brothers."

"Why? They're really cool!" said Irving. He really didn't understand teenage girls. "And didn't you go through all this trouble for them?"

"I just can't," said Candace.

"But it would make them really happy if we did it altogether," said Irving. The teenage redhead scowled before sighing.

"Fine," said Candace. "Isabella make it 8."


	47. Unique

47. Unique

"One thing you can say about Candace," said Stacy as she exchanged looks with Jenny. Candace did another loop in the rocket powered skates that her brother's built in order to impress Jeremy. Well, or at least Stacy figured that was what was going on. Did her best friend do much besides try to bust her brothers and impress Jeremy? Stacy pushed those thoughts away and smiled at Jenny. "She is definitely unique."


	48. Birds

48. Birds

Animals hate Candace. So when the birds escaped their cage at the Flynn grandparent's house, Candace hadn't been surprised when they attacked her. However, she was surprised when her brothers' platypus tripped her and then sat on her head as if to protect her from the pecking birds. The little blue-green weirdo did not move until Candace's mom had caught all the birds and put them back in the cage. But when the weird platypus moved to get off Candace's head, Candace stopped him and pulled him onto her lap. She gave him a quick hug and whispered a thank you before handing off to the boys and telling them to keep a better eye on their weird pet.


	49. Critters

49. Critters

When no one was looking, Candace pulled out the adorable pink-and-white figure from her backpack.

"Why are you following me this time?" asked Candace.

"Meap," said the pink-and-white alien pointing to his upper lip.

"Lost your mustache translator again? Seriously, how do you keep losing those things?"

"Meap."

"Fine. I'll ask Phineas and Ferb if they'll make a new one for you, but act like a stuffed animal until I get to them. Mom would freak if she noticed me carrying around a strange moving and talking thing. The boys might not get caught, but I most definitely would and somehow I'll get in trouble for it too," said Candace.

"Meap!" the tiny thing agreed.

"Candace, what is that?" asked an all too familiar voice behind her. "And is that thing moving?"

"Why do I even try?" Candace moaned.


	50. Impossible

A/N: Merry Christmas! I hope you all enjoyed reading these drabbles as much as I enjoyed writing them. Here's the last one.

* * *

50. Impossible

"You know," said Candace looking up at the boys' invention of the day: knitting the largest blanket ever for…actually, she didn't know what for and she doubted she wanted to. For some reason, they were planning to make it invisible or something. Honestly, she stopped listening when the little nerd boy was explaining the current project. "Do you two even know the meaning of impossible?"

"Sure," said Phineas offhandedly as he used the remote control in his hand to lead the fifty foot knitting needles into their next stitch.

"Really? Then what does it mean?" Candace demanded.

"Something that can't be done," Phineas said still focused on the knitting needle.

"Alright, now use it in a sentence," said Candace.

"It would be impossible to find a better sister than you," said Ferb, looking away from the other needle's work and straight at Candace.

"Hey, that's a perfect one," said Phineas, also looking away from his needle too and giving his brother a thumb up. "Good job, Ferb."

Candace stared speechlessly at her two brothers before a small smile started squirmed its way onto her face.

"You two definitely don't know the meaning of the word at all," said Candace walking away to go tell their mother about the latest project. "But I guess it could be worse. I could have brothers who did."


End file.
